For over 120 years, we have been organizing inventive design competitions that shape the built environment. We see the design competition as a vehicle to mobilize people across disciplines to develop innovative approaches to complex social, cultural, and ecological challenges around the world. Explore a continuously updated selection of our recent competitions:

We host energetic, festival-style seasons of public events in New York City for a broad audience of urban enthusiasts and professionals. Explore a continuously updated selection of our programs that engage a diverse range of topics designed to provoke, enlighten, question, and critically examine the themes of multi-year inquiries.

Van Alen’s research is grounded in a firm belief that design is a crucial tool for investigating the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges we face. Our research projects draw on the expertise of leaders from the world of policy, science, the arts, economics, medicine, and beyond. Our goal is to advance new thinking and creative solutions to evolving problems.

Our exhibitions and related forums critically address a wide range of issues related to the built environment. Explore a continuously updated selection of our exhibitions: